How to Do CPR on an Adult: Step-by-Step Emergency Guide

Before you start

• A phone to call emergency services
• An automated external defibrillator (AED), if one is nearby

Method 1 Check the person

1. 1

   Step 1: Make sure it’s safe

   Check for danger such as traffic, fire, electricity or water before you approach.

2. 2

   Step 2: Check for a response

   Kneel beside them, tap their shoulders firmly and shout, “Are you all right?”

3. 3

   Step 3: Open the airway

   If there’s no response, place one hand on their forehead and gently tilt the head back, then lift the chin with two fingers.

4. 4

   Step 4: Check for breathing

   Look, listen and feel for normal breathing for no more than 10 seconds. Occasional gasps are not normal breathing; treat them as no breathing.

Method 2 Call for help and get a defibrillator

1. 1

   Step 1: Call emergency services

   If they’re not breathing normally, call your emergency number and say the person is unresponsive and not breathing. Use speakerphone so your hands are free.

2. 2

   Step 2: Send for an AED

   If someone is with you, send them to find a public-access defibrillator (AED); they are often in shops, stations, gyms and offices. The call handler can tell you where the nearest one is. Don’t leave the person to look for one yourself if you’re alone.

Method 3 Give chest compressions

1. 1

   Step 1: Position your hands

   Kneel by their side. Place the heel of one hand in the centre of the chest (on the lower half of the breastbone), put your other hand on top and interlock your fingers.

2. 2

   Step 2: Position your body

   Lean over so your shoulders are directly above your hands and keep your arms straight.

3. 3

   Step 3: Push hard and fast

   Press straight down 5–6 cm (about 2–2.4 inches), at a rate of 100–120 compressions a minute, roughly the beat of the song “Stayin’ Alive”.

4. 4

   Step 4: Let the chest come back up

   Release the pressure fully after each compression without lifting your hands off the chest.

5. 5

   Step 5: Keep going

   Don’t stop except to let an AED analyse. If someone else can help, swap every 2 minutes, keeping the pause as short as possible, because CPR is tiring.

Method 4 Add rescue breaths (if you’re trained)

1. 1

   Step 1: Give 30 compressions

   Count 30 chest compressions.

2. 2

   Step 2: Give 2 breaths

   Tilt the head back and lift the chin, pinch the nose, seal your mouth over theirs and blow steadily for about 1 second until the chest rises. Repeat once.

3. 3

   Step 3: Continue 30:2

   Return to 30 compressions immediately. If you’re not trained or not willing to give breaths, hands-only CPR (continuous compressions) is far better than nothing.

Method 5 Use a defibrillator (AED)

1. 1

   Step 1: Switch it on

   Open the case and switch it on. It will give clear spoken instructions. Keep doing compressions while someone else prepares it.

2. 2

   Step 2: Attach the pads

   Remove or cut clothing from the chest, wipe the skin dry, and stick the pads where the pictures show: one below the right collarbone, one on the left side below the armpit.

3. 3

   Step 3: Stand clear

   When it says it is analysing, make sure no one touches the person. If it advises a shock, check everyone is clear and press the shock button if asked (some AEDs shock automatically).

4. 4

   Step 4: Restart CPR straight away

   Continue compressions as soon as the AED tells you to, and follow its prompts until help arrives.

Method 6 When to stop

1. 1

   Step 1: Help takes over

   Keep going until paramedics or another trained person take over.

2. 2

   Step 2: They show signs of life

   Stop if they start breathing normally, open their eyes, cough or move purposefully. Put them in the recovery position (on their side, top leg bent, head tilted back) and keep checking their breathing.

3. 3

   Step 3: You’re exhausted or unsafe

   Stop only if you physically can’t continue or the scene becomes dangerous.

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions

Summary